FILIE® Material,
High-Performance Soft Material Made With
Recycled Car Windshields
Chang Wong Industrial in cooperation with Recotec
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FILIE® was made possible by a strategic collaboration between Recotec, Chang Wong from Taiwan, and Xiong Xiang in China.
This is a partnership built on shared expertise, covering every step from initial R&D and large-scale production to creative application. A great concept can only succeed with a robust supply chain to support it. Ours is an alliance of shared resources, jointly invested to drive material innovation and diversity.
FILIE® Alliance
Origin
Each month, there are estimated more than 128,000 tons of waste PVB generated on average worldwide, including the worldwide yields in vehicle production and building construction industry.
There are approximately 1.4 billion motor vehicles in use worldwide. This number is growing over time due to factors such as population growth and economic development. Each passenger car can contain approximately 0-9 to 1.2KG of PVB material, with modern cars using more to meet the growing safety standards in the industry.
For decades, Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) was a high-performance polymer with no second life. As the essential safety interlayer in billions of windshields and architectural windows, it was destined for landfill, inextricably bound to shards of glass.
Unlocking this value was a 40-year challenge of economics, engineering, and a global quest for purity. This journey is the foundation upon which FILIE® is built.
Journey of PVB recycling
1980s–1990s: The Era of Downcycling
The first recycling attempts were born from simple economics: virgin PVB was expensive. focused on post-industrial scrap. It was "downcycled" into secondary products like carpet backing and paints. It was a partial solution, not a circular one.
2000s–2010s: The Quest for Purity
The first commercially viable recycling of post-consumer PVB (from old car windshields and building glass) began to emerge. Marking a global, technology-driven push to crack the purity problem.
Our journey began in 2005 as a search for high-performance alternatives to PVC, developing the advanced purification technologies to work with post-consumer PVB that is heavily contaminated with glass shards, rubber, adhesives, and other debris, while working on PVB processing.
Present Day: FILIE material
This 40-year journey is what makes FILIE® possible. From the original stiff film to soft durable leather and alternative to foam. Our focus is on performance. FILIE® delivers a sustainable material solution that meets the high-quality, durability, and functional demands of our partners in fashion, wellness, and performance goods.
Transformation
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01. The Recovery
The journey begins at the recovery of material from the landfill. We work with Recycling facilities to gather leftover PVB film from automotive windshields and architectural glass recycling.
02. The extraction
The recovered film undergoes a proprietary purification process that washes, shreds, and filters away contamination.
The purified PVB is further refined and processed into granulate form. This high-quality granulate is then used to manufacture FILIE sheet material, ensuring resource efficiency in production.
03. PVB granulates
FILIE®
A leather alternative, FILIE® are composed of three
layers, each contributing unique attributes to the overall quality and aesthetics of the product.
These layers are the surface Finish, Recycled PVB, and base Fabric.
Together, these layers ensure the recycled PVB leathers perform effectively and maintain a beautiful aesthetic. arranged with various backing fabric and thickness that are each suitable for different products and purpose including ball sports and gloves.
The material has proven its exceptional durability by exceeding 150,000 cycles in the Martindale abrasion test. Additionally, it is highly customizable, allowing for precise fine-tuning of both technical properties and surface textures
CARBON Footprint (KGCO2EQ.)
Cradle to gate (per kg material)
- FILIE® 0.0291
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FILIE® Foam
Performance begins at the core.
FILIE® Foam is an advanced, closed-cell material engineered from 100% recycled PVB resin.
Designed to replace conventional petroleum based foams like EVA and PU, FILIE® Foam offers a superior balance of density and rebound. Its unique chemical structure provides excellent shock absorption, hydrolysis resistance, and thermal stability. Because it is closed-cell, it is naturally moisture-resistant and hygienic.
Whether used in protective sports gear, or wellness products, FILIE® Foam delivers performance with a reduced carbon footprint.
Green product award nominee
sustainble material in 2025
Product life-cycle
The recycled PVB is used to create FILIE® Foam. Once the foam is discarded, it can be shredded and sent through a defoaming process, allowing the material to be reused. The defoamed material is then mixed with new recycled PVB pellets at a 50/50 ratio to create new FILIE® Foam.
When cotton is used as a strengthening layer, it will be separated during the defoaming process by a filter that blocks the cotton. Alternatively, it can be removed with a slicer before defoaming. Cotton, as a residual waste, can either be recycled separately or reintegrated into the production process as a filler material.
